Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on Iraqi troops near Karbala

Baghdad: A statement from the Islamic State group claims responsibility for an attack on Iraqi troops outside Karbala that left one dead. [caption id=“attachment_3536423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Iraqi Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Joint Military Command, says the suicide car bomb attack at a checkpoint outside the southern Iraqi city late Saturday injured two others. The Islamic State statement said the attack targeted a cement factory outside Karbala and resulted in dozens of casualties. Iraq’s prime minister declared victory over the Islamic State group in Iraq’s second largest city Mosul in July, depriving the group of their last significant urban foothold in the country. Iraqi forces closely backed by the United States-led coalition are now preparing to retake the Islamic State-held town of Tal Afar west of Mosul.